Athletic power v pure skill. Who ya got?
Chelsea parked the bus at the Camp Nou and just about got away with it. Cue moans about negative football from the Barcelona camp. Fair enough, but there was no way Guus Hiddink was going to engage Barca in an open game of football. And 0-0 looks a hell of a lot better than 6-2, which is the scoreline by which the Catalans trounced Real Madrid in last weekend’s Clasico.
Will Guus park the bus again tonight. If he watched Barcelona rip Madrid a new one, then he’ll be tempted to play it tight again: lots of men behind the ball, speculative balls up to Didier Drogba. You know the drill by know. But at home, Chelsea will have to open up a bit, won’t they?
Ashley Cole is back to keep tabs on Lionel Messi, while Michael Ballack also returns, having being rested for the league game against Fulham. Barca must make do without two valuable defenders, Carles Puyol (suspended) and Rafael Marquez (injured), and that’s where Chelsea can hurt the visitors.
Both teams will score, I’m certain, but can Chelsea score more than Barcelona? I doubt it.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona (Barca go through on away goals)
What’s your prediction folks?